Rise of the spirit
by Astrala
Summary: The gang befriends a young orphaned street racer named Kaley. But when trouble starts brewing in Mid City, they start to wonder what she is hiding from them. And what it has to do with an ancient dragon race that was supposedly wiped out years before.
1. Chapter 1 New Friends

Author's note: the events in this story take place after 'Wraith Booster.'

"Humans" *dragons* so you don't get confused.

**Chapter One: New Friends.**

It was really late and Parmon, Lance and Kitt were sitting around at Penn Stables. Their dragons, Cyrano, Fracshun and Wyldfyer were in the main stall, sleeping. They looked over at the entrance. Artha had been gone for quite sometime. Moordryd Paynn and the Dragon Eyes had been making things very tense between the down city crews. Suddenly, the secret wall in the main stall opened and Mortis came out. He walked over to them and looked at each of them in turn.

"Anything?" he asked. Kitt looked up.

"Nothing." She replied. "He hasn't come back and he hasn't contacted us." She looked over at the stable entrance. "Maybe we should go and look for them."

Parmon looked at her with a calm expression. "I'm sure they'll be back soon." He said with more confidence than he felt. "Artha has been very busy lately, what with Moordryd and the Dragon Eyes causing trouble."

Suddenly, they heard a stomping sound and looked up. Artha and Beau were coming towards them, in their racing form, both looking very tired.

"There you are." said Kitt, sounding relieved.

"Sorry I'm so late." Artha replied. "Moordryd and his crew are getting really tight." With that he sat down heavily next to Lance. Beau walked straight past them and lay down next to Fracshun. Mortis looked at Artha.

"You don't look too good." He observed.

"I'm fine." Artha said. "Just tired."

"I'm not surprised." Parmon said. "What with the constant bickering of the down city crews, it's getting harder for Phistus and his crew to keep order. With the Dragon Eyes stirring up trouble, the other crews battling, not to mention the races getting even tougher than usual and…

"Parm," Artha interrupted him, "not now." He knew that Parmon had been close to giving one of his confusing rants. They were hard enough to understand when he was wide awake; Artha didn't think he could handle it right now.

"You should all get some sleep." Mortis said. "Tomorrow we'll see if we can't figure this out." and with that, he went back through the door to the temple. They all got up and went over to their sleeping mats where they laid down and fell asleep almost instantly.

Artha stayed awake for a bit, thinking. Ever since that night when Beau had chosen him as the Dragon Booster, Artha's life had been all over the place. Not only did he have to stop an up and coming dragon human war, but he was also competing in the all city races and looking after his brother Lance. Artha was glad that he had his friends there to help him and Mortis, who had been like a father to him and Lance since they had lost their dad in a fire that had nearly destroy the stable. Thoughts still on his dad, Artha slipped into an uneasy sleep.

Not far away, a shadowy figure stuck its head around a corner of a small alley. Quickly, it with drew as two dragons passed, their riders deep in conversation. The figure moved quietly to the far end of the alley where a white and blue dragon was waiting. The dragon looked up as the figure approached. Slowly, the figure lifted its hood to reveal a young girl of around 16. She had dark brown hair and green eyes.

"We should be safe here for tonight." She whispered to her dragon. "How are you doing?" The dragon made a deep groan and lay down. She was obviously very tired. Her rider looked at her sympathetically.

"That makes two of us, girl." She said. Gently, she took off her cloak and lay down against her dragon. She pulled out a silver amulet and looked at it. As she looked at it, images flashed across her eyes. Memories of a night which had changed her life.

after staring at it silently for a bit, she tucked the amulet away. "I just hope that we can find someone who can tell us what this means." Her dragon nudged her comfortingly. She gave her a gentle stroke. "Good night, Astrala." Silently, she lay down and the two of them feel asleep.

* * *

Not far away, Word Paynn sat at the desk in the control room of his citadel. His son, Moordryd, is standing across from him. The expression on his face shows clearly that he has just been knocked off by Dragon Booster.

"He is getting harder for me to deal with. We have tried nearly everything, what do you want me to do?"

Word looked at his son. Moordryd recognized that look. It normally meant that his father had some kind of plan. Word was silent for a moment, then he spoke. "Recently, I have been feeling a strange presence. Keep your eyes open during the next few days. Who knows, the answer to our problems with the Dragon Booster could be closer than we think."

* * *

Astrala woke up rather suddenly. She got up, trying gently not to wake her rider, and walked quietly to the alley entrance. She had a strong feeling that something wasn't right here.

*Hello* she whispered. No one answered. Behind her she heard a shifting. She turned her head to see her rider sit up. She went back over to her.

"Hey," she said sleepily. "What is it, girl." Astrala just looked at her, and then nudged at her pack. The girl shook her head. "I know. You're hungry." She went over to her bag and pulled out some dragon munchies and gave them to Astrala. She the pulled out something called a draconi-yum bar, which she had never tried before, and took a bite. It was actually pretty good. She looked in the pack and noticed that they didn't have much left.

She looked over at Astrala.

"We're almost out of food." She said. She leaned against the entrance to the alley. "Thing is, we don't have any money. There must be some way we can get some."

Suddenly, from not too far away, she heard the roar of a crowd. She hurried over to Astrala, placed the pack on her back and climbed into the saddle. They left the alley and headed to where the noise was coming from. It was coming from a huge stadium. The sign out the front read all city racing circuit.

She gently climbed down from Astrala's saddle and they headed over to a small fence at the edge of the stand. She leaned against the fence and looked over at the starting gate. About 8 dragons were lined up, each with a person on it. Most of these riders looked about her age. But her gaze soon fell on two dragons, side by side. One was a red dragon with a girl in her saddle. She was wearing a pink and light blue racing suit. She had light blue hair. Next to them stood a red and blue dragon. This dragon looked very strong. She looked at the dragon's rider. He was a 16 year old boy. He was wearing a white and blue racing jacket and a white racing helmet. The race marshal signaled for them to get ready. The horn sounded and they were off. The girl kept her eyes on the red and blue dragon and his rider. They were amazing. The way they worked together, almost as one. She stood there, leaning against the fence watching as they raced around the track and crossed the finish line in first place, the red dragon just behind them.

"And Artha Penn of the Penn Racing Crew takes first place in front of team mate, Kitt Wonn." The race marshal called out. The girl watched as Kitt came over to Artha and gave him a gentle punch in the shoulder. They got down from there dragons and headed over to their team mates. She looked up at Astrala, smiling.

"What do you think, girl?" she said. Astrala looked at her and nodded.

*looks like fun.*

* * *

Over at the stalls behind the track, Artha, Kitt, Lance and Parmon were talking about Moordryd's behavior during the race. Normally, he would be ramming them. But today he seemed distracted. He was looking around. Suddenly, Artha's wrist beeped. He hit a button on it and Mortis appeared on the screen.

"Artha, I need to speak with you." He said. "Come to the dragon cave as soon as you can."

"Ok, Mortis." Artha turned off his wrist com and looked at the others. "Come on guys, we better go."

With that, they walked out of the stall area. But Artha was so caught up in his own thoughts that, CRASH, he walk right into someone at the entrance. He shook his head and stood up. The person he had run into looked up at him. It was a girl of around his age.

"Sorry." She said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"It's ok. I wasn't either." Artha said to her. "Are you alright?" She nodded and Artha held out his hand. She took it and he pulled her up. She gently brushed herself off. Her eyes were green with a bit of brown and she had medium brown waist length hair. She was a tiny bit shorter than Artha. She wore a very light gray top, and greenish blue pants, and a dark green cloak with a hood. Artha noticed a chain around her neck but couldn't see what was on it. He stopped staring when he realized she was looking at him.

"What are you staring at?" she asked. Artha quickly looked away. He only just realized that he had been staring.

"Sorry." He said quickly. She just smiled.

"You're Artha Penn. of the Penn racing crew." she said. Artha nodded, surprised. Not that many people acknowledged him. It had once really annoyed him, but he had recently found out the fame wasn't all people made it out to be. He had learned that the hard way.

"Uh, yeah." He replied.

"I was watching the race. You were amazing. The way you worked with your dragon, almost like you were one." She said. Artha smiled.

"Thanks." He replied.

"I'm Kaley." She said.

"Nice to meet you. Do you race?" he asked. Kaley shook her head.

"Not really. I'm hoping to enter one of these races."

"Artha." Artha looked over Kaley's shoulder and saw the others coming towards him. They stopped when they saw Kaley.

"Hey, guys." He said going over to them. Kitt looked over at Kaley, then back at Artha.

"Oh, this it Kaley." Artha said quickly, gesturing to her. She came over. "Kaley, this is my racing team. These are my friends, Kitt and Parmon, and my little brother, Lance." He pointed to each of them in turn.

"Hi." She said. They all said hello back. Beau, feeling a bit left out, came up behind Artha and gave him a whack on the head with his tail. "Ow." Artha turned and saw Beau standing there.

*What am I, invisible?*He growled. Kaley laughed. Beau smiled at her.

"And this is Beau." Artha said. Beau nudged him and pointed to Wyldfyer and Cyrano with his tail. Kitt and Parmon saw this and introduced their dragons. Kaley smiled at them too.

"You were great out there." Kaley said to Kitt. "I was just telling Artha that I was impressed by the way you and he worked with your dragons. Most of the other racers were almost fighting with their dragons to get them to do what they want. But you two, I have seen team work like that in a long time."

Artha looked at her. "Do your parents race?" he asked her. Her expression changed and she shook her head. Artha noticed that she didn't seem happy talking about it. Just then, a large blue and white dragon came over to Kaley and nudged her. This dragon looked different to any that he had seen before. Kaley looked around and smiled again.

"Oh. Sorry girl." She laughed. She turned to them. "This is Astrala. Astrala, this is Artha, Kitt, Parmon and Lance." She then gestured to the dragons. "And that's Wyldfyer and Cyrano and this one is Beau." She pointed to Beau. Astrala looked at Beau and smiled.

*Hi* She said to them.

*Hey.* Wyldfyer and Cyrano replied. Beau was just staring at her. He thought she looked familiar. Wyldfyer brought him back to life by whacking him with his tail. Beau started. Astrala laughed at him.

*Sorry.* Beau said.

*That's ok.* Astrala relied. She thought Beau looked familiar. *I'm sorry, have we met before?*

*Um, I don't think so. Why?* Beau replied.

Astrala shrugged. *Don't know. You just looked familiar, that's all. what did you say your name was again?*

*Beau.*

Astrala looked at him curiously.

*if you're wondering if it has anything to do with Beaucephulis, I wouldn't know. it's just the name I was given.*

*You're rider must sense greatness in you, choosing such a name.*

Suddenly, Mortis popped up on Artha's wrist com and woke everyone up.

"Artha, where are you? I need you to come now." He said.

"Sorry. We're on our way." Artha said. He switched off the com and looked over at Kaley. "Sorry, we need to go." He said to her. She nodded.

"That's ok. Astrala and I should go too." She said. "It was nice meeting all of you."

"Nice to meet you, too." Kitt said.

They said good-bye and Kaley and Astrala walked away. Artha and his friends left the stall area. As they parted, Beau couldn't help but look back at Astrala. Astrala couldn't help looking at Beau either. Kaley couldn't get her mind off Artha. There was just something about him, something mysterious.

* * *

Mortis stood waiting as Artha and his friends walked out of the elevator towards him.

"Sorry Mortis." Artha said quickly. "We got caught up."

"I said I need to speak with you." Mortis replied. Artha looked at him, rather nervous. Mortis just looked at him. "Anyway, the reason I asked you here is because I believe that you need to know about this. When I was young, the dragon priests told me of a forgotten race, the silver draconium empire."

Kitt looked confused. "Silver?"

"Yes." Mortis replied. "They had been very close friends with the ancient gold-star dragons. They believed in a strong unity between dragons and humans. They felt that no one race should be strong than the other, that they were all equal and should live that way. They tried to help the dragon priests convince the other empires of this, but they were ignored. They mostly stayed hidden during the war, not wanting to get caught up in the fighting. Their dragons, the silver bone ones, were the only dragons that didn't turn on their masters because they had always been treated with respect. Some did leave, but many stayed. One dragon was almost killed trying to stop the fighting, but she was saved the Dragon Booster and the original Beau. This silver crew saw them as saviors. The dragon that had been saved by Beau also chose a rider. A Spirit Booster! She was able to help the Dragon Booster. Eventually, the other silver dragons joined with the dragon booster and others who wanted to stop the war. With their help, the Dragon Booster was able to stop the war. But many years after the war, they were attacked and practically wiped out. It's not known how many survived. "

Mortis looked at the four stunned kids sitting a few feet away. Artha's mind was reeling. A forgotten crew that had helped the original Dragon Booster? Then Parmon's voice brought Artha out of his trance.

"So, has anyone seen any evidence of a silver dragon since then?"

Mortis shook his head. "There have been some stories, but no one knows what happened. The ancient dragon priests believe that they are still out there, but no one knows where."

Artha just sat, trying to absorb what he had just heard. The thought that somewhere there might be the remainder of a very old crew was a lot for him to hear. Were they still out there? And if so, how could he find them?

The afternoon, while Parmon was checking out their gear and Lance was playing on his battleground dragon game, Artha stood on the platform outside the stable, thinking. As he stood there, Beau came up and stood next to him. He put his head on Artha's shoulder and Artha stroked him.


	2. Chapter 2 Living Legends

**Chapter 2: Living Legend.**

"Well girl." Kaley said to Astrala, her voice a little uneasy. "This is it. You ready?" Astrala looked at Kaley and gave her an encouraging nod. It made her feel a bit better. Kaley had never gone in a really big race like this. She had seen just from the few races she had seen yesterday that it was likely to be pretty tough. She reached up and started to pull her hair into a long plait.

"Kaley." She turned around and saw Artha and his friends coming towards them.

"Hey, guys."

"Are you racing today?" Kitt asked. Kaley nodded.

"Yeah. I'm kind of nervous. I mean, these races seem rather tough." Kaley said, tying off the end of her plait as she spoke.

"They certainly are." said Parmon. "although, with the level one speed races, I've managed to observe and calculate the various wind speed and resistance around the different area's of the track and marginally figured the energy co-efficient outputs for certain gears at different points and when each can be used to most effectively contribute to the overall effect to the finally outcome of the performance of the…" Parmon stopped as everyone was staring at him with blank looks on their faces. As usual, no one had a clue what he had been saying. Even the dragons were giving him blank looks. This wasn't helping Kaley one bit.

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?"

"Don't worry." Artha said, "Even we don't understand him sometimes."

Parmon looked a bit put off. "It means that if you can keep a good, smooth speed and only use gears when necessary, you should be fine." He told her.

"Oh, thanks." Kaley said. _that makes me feel so much better._

Astrala went over to Beau, Wyldfyer, Cyrano and Fracshun. Beau looked at her. *You alright?* he asked. Astrala nodded.

*I'm ok, but I'm more concerned about Kaley.*

Beau went over to Artha and nudged him in the back. Artha turned around and Beau gestured to his white aero gear and then to Astrala. Kaley looked at Beau.

"What is it?" she asked. Though Artha couldn't speak dragon, he understood what Beau was saying and nodded.

"He wants to know if you and Astrala want to borrow some of our gear for the race." Artha explained to her. Kaley looked at Artha, then at Beau. She had only known Artha for a day and he was offering to help her. Unable to speak, she nodded to Artha and Beau magged his white aero gear onto Astrala. Kitt turned to Wyldfyer, who nodded and magged his red thruster gear onto Astrala. Kaley was overwhelmed.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Kitt said. "Just try not to damage them."

"I'll be careful."

Artha gave her a reassuring smile. "You'll be fine. We'll be watching you from the stand. Good luck." Kaley started to feel better. A siren sounded to signal five minutes to race time. Kaley said goodbye to them and went off to the start line.

"GOOD DAY TO YOU MY BRAVE ALL CITY STREET COMPETITORS." boomed the voice of the race Marshall. "I AM RACE MARSHALL BUDGE." Kaley sat on Astrala, trying to relax. She took a deep breath. Astrala gave her an encouraging grumble, which slowed her nerves. Astrala had been her friend for a long time. Kaley knew she was safe with her. She looked up at the stand and saw Artha, Kitt, Parmon and Lance. Lance waved to her and she waved back. Even if she hadn't known them very long, just knowing she had someone watching her made her feel better.

"Ok girl." She said to Astrala. "Here goes nothing." The horn blasted, the starting barrier fell and the six dragons and their riders were off. Kaley and Astrala immediately took 4th place. Kaley was overwhelmed. This feeling was unlike anything she had ever felt before. As they race around the track, Kaley almost felt like she was soaring. A slight jolt brought her out of her trance and she focused herself on the track. Many of the other racers were really pushing their dragons. She relaxed herself and concentrated on working with Astrala. They speed up and passed two dragons to gain 2nd place.

Up in the stands, Artha, Kitt, Parmon and Lance were watching them, amazed. Kaley had said that Artha had work well with Beau, but he couldn't believe what he was seeing. She was incredible. Of course, the races were very tough, so it wasn't long before someone came up next to Kaley and Astrala and rammed into them. Kaley turned to the rider, who immediately took off in front of them.

"What's his problem?" Kaley watched as he came level with the one in front of her rammed him hard. The other rider returned the favor. Kaley started to get nervous. "Boy, these races are tough. We better watch it." They sped into a tunnel. A black dragon passed them on the right. It looked back and growled at them. Astrala growled back and sped up until she was level with the dragon and his rider. They came out of the tunnel, still racing neck and neck.

*you're mine, loser.* the black dragon sneered at Astrala and rammed into her. She growled and returned the favor. Kaley was rocked a bit, but managed to straighten up. The black dragon over took them.

"Astrala, what was that about? If he wants to race like a maniac, let him."

*he called me a loser.* Kaley could tell from her friend's grumble that she was upset. "Don't let him get to you. It's what he wants." She told her. Astrala nodded and speed up. They came level with the black dragon again. The rider looked over at Kaley. The dragon sneered at Astrala.

*back for more, huh?* he jeered at her. Astrala looked ahead, smiled and looked at the dragon.

*You know, it might help if you spent less time knocking others and more time actually looking where you are going.* she grinned at him.

The black rider brought out his staff. Kaley looked ahead, grinned and looked back at him.

"Not wanting to wreck your fun, but the track is that way." She pointed in front of the rider. Both he and his dragon looked ahead and tried to brake, but they had left it a bit too late. The track turned sharply to the left and they crashed into the barrier. Kaley and Astrala passed them. Astrala called back to the black dragon.

*now who's the loser?* she laughed. Kaley smiled.

"See girl. They mess up, it's their problem."

Just then, two dragons, a green one and a blue one, came up behind her and moved to each side. Parmon saw this. "Oh dear. This doesn't look good."

Kaley looked at the dragons on either side of her. She didn't need to be an experienced racer to know what they were planning. Well, if they wanted to play rough, then she was happy to oblige.

"You know what to do, girl." She whispered to Astrala. She nodded gently. *You bet.* She answered and sped up. The other racers sped up too.

Artha and Kitt watched this. "They're going to crush her." Kitt yelled. Parmon was holding his breath. Artha and Lance watched, not knowing what would happen.

"Steady, girl. Steady." Kaley braced herself. The rider of the green dragon looked over at the rider of the blue dragon and nodded. They closed in fast.

"NOW!" Kaley yelled. At the last second, Astrala stopped and the other dragons crashed into each other and piled on each other. Kaley activated the red thruster gear on Astrala and they soared over them, came down and sped up again.

"Did you see that?" Kitt exclaimed.

"That was drac." Lance called, amazed.

"What. What happened?" Parmon, who had covered his eyes, looked up in time to see a replay on the screen.

"INCREDIBLE! SOME REAL SKILLS BEING SHOWN ON THE TRACK." called the race Marshall. Parmon was beside himself.

"Amazing!"

Kaley was feeling very happy too. "Great job, girl." She called to Astrala, who smiled. Kaley looked up just in time to see a jump right ahead. Astrala leaped. Kaley activated the white aero gear and they soared to the other side. They landed and Kaley released a huge breath. "That was close." Astrala grunted in agreement. They tore across the finish line to gain 2nd place. Up in the stands, Artha, Parmon, Kitt and Lance were cheering. Kaley looked up at them and waved. They waved back. Artha could not believe what he had just seen. There really was something special about her.

* * *

Kaley met with Artha and the others in the stall area behind the stands. Lance was still going wild.

"That was drac, Kaley."

"Yes." Parmon agreed. "That was quite a move you made."

"Thanks." Kaley replied. "But I can't take all the credit. Astrala did a lot too." She looked up at her dragon, who gave her a nudged. She looked at Artha, who smiled. She started fiddling with the end of her plait.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone work so closely with their dragon." he exclaimed.

Kaley smiled back. "Thanks for letting me use the gears." She nodded to Astrala, who looked over at Beau and Wyldfyer. She gently magged the gears off and Beau and Wyldfyer magged them back on.

"No problem." Artha said to her.

Cyrano looked up at Astrala. *So, how come her parents didn't come and watch?* he asked. Astrala's smiled faded.

*They died years ago.* She replied. The four dragons looked at her.

*I'm sorry to hear that.* Beau said. *So who do you live with?*

Astrala didn't answer. Kaley turned to her. She could suddenly sense that her friend was feeling uneasy. Kaley was feeling the same. Best not to get too attached.

"We should probably go." She turned to her new friends. "It was great seeing you all again. Thanks for your help."

"Where are you staying?" Kitt asked.

"Well…" but before Kaley could answer, they heard an "Ow" and everyone looked around. Standing not far away were 3 people. They each had a black dragon eye on the back of their clothes. One had dark hair and dark skin, another pale skin and white hair. Three black Psi-class dragons stood near them. For a moment Kaley stood. Then she noticed the dark skin one was clutching his foot. A green toy dragon lay near him. Everyone looked at Lance, who was holding a toy remote. The dark skin person turned to them and she saw that he was probably no more than a year older than her. As she watched, he stalked over to them. Lance quickly hid the remote behind his back and smiled nervously.

_Not good_, Kaley thought.

This guy was clearly not happy. "Well look what we have here."

Artha went over and stood in front of his brother, facing this guy with a dark look. "Lay off it, Cain. He's just a kid."

Cain laughed. "Isn't that sweet?"

"Stand down, Cain." He turned to the one with the light hair. Cain moved aside and the other boy came and stood in front of Artha. Kaley could see from the looks on their faces that they knew each other. "You want to keep a closer eye on your brother, Penn." He sneered.

"You may want to keep a closer eye on you crew, Moordryd." Artha replied. "Cain's temper could get him into trouble some day."

Moordryd sneered at Artha. "Though, I guess it's hard, having to look out for that brat after what happened to your father."

Everyone went quiet. Kaley could tell from the sudden tension in the air and the look on Artha's face that Moordryd had hit home. Beau growled. Kitt, Parmon and Lance moved away from Artha, looking scared. The Dragon Eyes stepped back too, smiling. This was not good. Artha looked like he was going to explode. He activated his blocking staff and Moordryd did the same.

"You leave my father out of this, Paynn!" Artha yelled.

"Make me, stable boy." Moordryd replied. They brought up their staffs. The Penn crew looked away. But as brought their weapons down, two hands shot out and grabbed the sticks, stopping them. Everyone gasped. Kaley was standing between Artha and Moordryd, arms raised, holding their staffs away from each other. Even the dragons were amazed. The two boys stared at her, not really knowing what had happened. Her expression was rough. She let go of the sticks and they stumbled back. She gave Artha a firm look, and then turned to Moordryd.

"You should watch what you say." She said. Moordryd was stunned. But he got over it quickly and looked at Artha.

"Who's your new friend?" he asked.

"My name is Kaley." She replied. She looked over at Decepshun and Coershun. "Nice dragons. Black Psi-class. The one with the white is female, the other two are male. The grey one is slightly older than the girl. Am I right?"

Moordryd looked shocked, then his face returned to firm.

"I'll take your stunned silence to mean yes."

Astrala came over and stood by her rider. Decepshun came over and glared at her. Astrala stared to growl. "Astrala." Kaley said to her dragon. Astrala backed off a bit.

"Interesting dragon." Moordryd said, looking at Astrala. "Can't say I've seen any like that before. You may want to watch it with the stable brats."

"Really." Kaley replied calmly. Artha was amazed at how cool and calm she was. "If you not careful, that big mouth of yours could get you in to trouble one of these days."

"Ouch." Kitt gasped from the background. Moordryd was suddenly fired up. Kaley turned to walk away, which Artha thought was a bad idea. Moordryd brought up his staff.

"Kaley, watch it." Lance yelled. Moordryd brought his staff down, but Kaley caught it. She then brought out her left arm and hit Moordryd in the side, then crouched, swung out her leg and tripped him. He landed on the ground. Everyone stared as Kaley stood up and threw him back his blocking staff. He caught it and stood up. Kaley pushed her plait back over her shoulder.

"It is also not a good idea to attack when an opponent's back is turned." She said, her voice serious in a rather unsettling way. "It never puts you in a good light. I would have thought someone like you would know better. "

Moordryd looked beside himself. Everyone waited.

"Let's go." He said to Cain. He move in close to Kaley and muttered. "You have no idea what you have just started." And with that, the Dragon Eyes left. Though Kaley felt that she hadn't seen the last of them. She turned and saw everyone staring at her.

Parmon was the first to speak. "I can't believe you just took on Moordryd Paynn."

"Yeah. You sure showed him a thing or two." Kitt agreed.

"Thanks." Kaley replied. "Well, Astrala and I should go."

"Do you want us to come with you? The Dragon Eyes aren't the best crew to mess with."

"We'll be ok." and with that, she climbed onto her dragon and left.

_

* * *

_

A huge blast. Screams. Kaley ran into the square. People were running around, scared. Houses were on fire. The men of her town battling with dark figures on black dragons.

_Her mother yelling at her to run. She was scared. She didn't know what was going on. There was another blast. _

Kaley woke up suddenly. Astrala was nudging her. She looked around, panting. They were still in dragon city. It had just been a bad dream. She sighed heavily and lay back against Astrala, breathing hard. Astrala looked concerned.

*You ok?* she grumbled. Though she didn't speak dragon, Kaley understood what her friend was saying. She stroked her gently.

"I'm fine. Just a bad dream." She said softly. She reached into a pocket of her bag and pulled out a very old photo. It was her at five years old. Behind her stood a man with blue eyes and short dark hair, and a woman with long flowing hair like hers and sea green eyes. Next to her stood a boy a few years older. She sighed again as she looked at them. It had been along time, but Kaley still dreamt of them.

Suddenly, Astrala's head jerked up, like she had heard something.

"What is it?" Kaley asked. Astrala got up and walked over to the entrance to the alley. Kaley followed her and they both peaked out. A group of five black dragons was hiding nearby. At first, Kaley though they were the group from her dream, but then she saw that they had a black dragon eye on there jackets. Moordryd Paynn was with them.

"Dragon eye crew." Kaley whispered.

He was talking to his crew members in a low voice. Two of them nodded and slipped over to dark area. Moordryd and Cain went over to the alley opposite them. Kaley watched and saw a large carriage pulled by a green bull-class dragon coming down the street, towards them.

"This doesn't look good." She whispered to Astrala. Silently, Astrala magged Kaley into the saddle and they crept along towards where the Dragon Eyes were.

The green dragon's rider was oblivious to what was happening. Suddenly, the dragon eyes leaped out and surrounded him. The driver froze in shock. One of the riders aimed their green trapping gear at him, but didn't fire. Moordryd had told them to wait.

"Let's do this." He said to the others. He and the remaining Dragon Eyes went towards the back of the carriage, when suddenly there was a loud BANG and they turned to see their crew member on the ground near a wall. They looked over into the shadows as Astrala emerged, growling. In the saddle sat Kaley. The dragon aimed another mag burst at Moordryd and the others. They were thrown away from the van. She turned to the driver.

"Get out of here." She yelled. "I'll handle them." the driver didn't need telling twice. He cracked the whip and the green dragon took off as fast as a bull-class dragon could go.

Moordryd watched as they got away, then got back onto Decepshun and stared at Kaley and Astrala.

"You." He scolded.

"I'm afraid so." Kaley replied.

"You're going to pay for that. Surround her." he yelled to the others. The dragon eyes moved in around Kaley and Astrala. She just calmly looked at Moordryd.

"You don't want to do that." She said.

"Oh, really?" Moordryd replied. "Because I believe I do."

*if you insist.* Astrala fired her self up.

Moordryd yelled to his crew. "Get her." they started to move in. Astrala let off a huge mag burst, blasting them back. They got up slowly. Kaley grab her blocking staff.

"Mag me, girl." She yelled.

*On It.* Astrala grumbled in reply and magged her rider up out of the saddle. Kaley flipped and came down, landing in a crouch with her arms spread to help her balance. She stood up slowly. Moordryd stared at her. Now he was mad. But Kaley kept a firm look.

"I really didn't want to do this." She extended her mag staff. "But you asked for it." Two riders magged up behind her. Astrala took her up and she knocked them out of the air. Cain came up and attempted to whack her, but she blocked his hit and brought her stick around, sending him into a billboard. Moordryd magged up and the two of them fought hard. She knocked him down and he landed hard. She blocked a few more strikes from the other riders. Cain slipped over to Moordryd.

"She's pretty good, Moordryd." He said.

"Yes." Moordryd replied, a hint of surprise in his voice. "She is." they looked up and saw her beating the other riders. She turned around sharp and Moordryd's energy drain whip came up out of nowhere. She yelled and fell to the ground.

Astrala roared at them. *Oh no you don't.* but then two of the others fired green trapping gear at her, pinning her against a wall. Moordryd withdrew the whip and Kaley lay on the ground, panting hard. "Get her up." he ordered. Cain and Rancydd grabbed Kaley and pulled her to her feet. Another took her blocking staff and handed it to Moordryd. She stared at him. Moordryd smiled at her.

"Very impressive." He commented. "You're truly a skilled fighter." he turned to Cain. "Take her to the compound." He turned to Decepshun.

"I don't think you want to do that, Paynn." A call from above made everyone stop and look up. Kaley stared as a huge dragon leaped down and landed near them. It was black and gold. The rider was wearing armor made from gold draconium. Kaley couldn't believe what she was seeing. Could it be? She had heard stories and seen pictures, but she didn't think that it was possible.

It was, of coarse, Artha and Beau, but no one looking at them knew that. Kaley saw only the figure from an old story. The Dragon Eyes saw someone who had been bugging them for ages.

Moordryd scowled at Artha. "Stay out of this, Dragon Booster. This doesn't concern you."

"Um, a down city crew capturing people for no apparent reason. I think I does." Dragon Booster said. Kaley stood there, staring. It had to be him.

"Get him." Moordryd yelled. Two dragon eyes charged. Beau just shook his head and mag-blasted them both back. Kaley felt the ground vibrate from the resulting crash landing. She looked at the dragon's mag stream. It was gold. _The dragon with the gold star mark will return. He is the dragon of ultimate power. This dragon shall be the only one to choose his rider. This shall be the new dragon booster._

She looked at the dragon and saw a gold star on his head. It was him. The Dragon of Legend had returned, and with him, a new Dragon Booster. Kaley fell to her knees and bowed. Everyone stared at her. Artha was shocked. He had never got this reaction before. Moordryd just stared then looked at Cain.

"Get her up." he ordered. Cain pulled her back to her feet to face Moordryd. "I don't know what you're playing at, but you are starting to annoy me." He gave her a whack in the stomach and she hunched over in pain. Cain straightened her up again.

Moordryd activated his blocking staff and turned to face the Dragon Booster. "Alright, you want her. Come and get her." Decepshun magged him up, Beau magged Artha towards him and they fought. Cain and the others were distracted by the fight. Kaley saw a chance and caught them off guard. She kicked Rancydd in the leg and he let go of her, a small yelp of pain escaping him. Though Kaley was of slight build, she packed quite a punch when she wanted to. She brought her other hand around but Cain grabbed her wrist.

"Nice try." He sneered. But she had been expecting that. She kicked his knee and he let go. He recovered quickly and tried to hit her but she blocked him and punched him in the chest then swung out her leg and tripped him. She grabbed her staff, which Moordryd had dropped. Moordryd landed not far away and she looked up at the Dragon Booster. He magged back down.

"Go!" he yelled to her. "I've got them."

She nodded and ran towards Astrala. She deactivated the trapping gear and Astrala magged Kaley into the saddle. She looked back at the Dragon Booster.

"GO. Now." He yelled to her as Beau let off another mag burst, sending two dragons and their riders flying. Astrala took off, but Moordryd magged over and knocked Kaley out of the saddle. She stood up quickly. Decepshun charged at Astrala and the two dragons fought.

"You're not going anywhere." Moordryd pulled out his whip and aimed it at Kaley, but she was ready. She brought up her staff to block it. The whip connected with her staff and Moordryd yanked it away. He tried to get her but she dodged it, jumped, flipped and landed in a squat. Suddenly, she heard a crash and turned to see her dragon slam into a wall. Moordryd took advantage of her sudden loss of concentration and leaped towards her. She turned just in time to see him standing in front of her, staff raised. He brought it down and she grabbed it quickly, but Moordryd hit her in the stomach and she let go. Moordryd then whacked her with his staff and she was thrown back. She hit a wall and landed on the ground. Groaning, she looked up to see Moordryd coming towards her. She tried to stand but a pain shot through her side and she crumbled. Suddenly, a huge roar was heard and they both looked over to see the Dragon of Legend and the Dragon Booster. Kaley stared as the Dragon Booster was magged up by his dragon and landed between her and Moordryd, jak stick activated. He faced his enemy, who stared back.

"Leave her alone, Paynn."

Moordryd raised his weapon and charged at the Dragon Booster, who brought up his weapon and blocked the blow from his attacker. Kaley watched as they fought.

While the humans battled, Decepshun powered up for a mag burst on Astrala, but she turned when she heard a roar and saw The Dragon of Legend standing near her. The two dragons faced each other.

*You're really starting to get on my nerves.* Decepshun growled.

*That isn't as hard as it sounds.* Beau replied.

She sent out a mag blast at Beau, but he dogged it and swung out his hind legs and tripped her. She stood up and the two dragons turned as Moordryd slammed against a wall. Decepshun roared at Beau, then magged her rider into her saddle. They faced the Dragon Booster.

"You've won this round. But I'll be back." with that, they retreated. The Dragon Booster watched till they were out of site, then turned and went over to Kaley. She stared at her hero, unable to believe it. It truly was him.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. She nodded, too stunned to say anything. He held out his hand and helped her up. She groaned in pain as she stood, but quickly hid it.

"It really is you." She said. She bowed gently, and then straightened up.

"yeah, I guess so." Artha replied awkwardly.

Beau went over to Astrala and helped her up. She smiled at him.

*Thank you for your help, Beaucephulis. It's truly an honor.*

Beau smiled back. *You're welcome. I've dealt with these guys before so it's really no problem.* the two dragons then went over and stood beside their riders. Kaley turned to her friend.

"You alright, girl?" she asked. Astrala nodded. She turned back to Beau and the Dragon Booster. "Beaucephulis. The gold dragon of legend!" Both she and her dragon bowed. When they had straightened up again, Artha asked her "how did you get mixed up with them?"

"I saw them hiding beside the road and a bull-class dragon with a transport carriage coming down the street." Kaley explained. "I could guess it wasn't good. I managed to knock them off, but Moordryd was a bit too quick for me. Thank the Magna Draconis you showed up when you did."

"Just good timing I guess." Artha replied. "Those guys are pretty tough."

"I noticed." Kaley said, rubbing her arm. She didn't understand it, but there was something about this person. Something, familiar. "Well, thank you for your help. We should be alright from here."

"Are you sure?" Artha wasn't sure about just leaving them after what happened.

"Don't worry. We're not as fragile as we look." She turned to Astrala, who smiled. Artha still wasn't sure, but she insisted that it was fine.

"Ok." Beau magged Artha into his saddle and he looked down Kaley. "Just be careful."

"I will." Kaley promised. "Thank you both for your help. Will I see you again?"

Artha nodded. "I'm sure you will."

Beau looked over at Astrala. *Take care of her.*

Astrala smiled at him. *I will.*

And with that, Beau and the Dragon Booster left. Kaley watched till they were out of site. Her head was spinning. If the gold dragon of legend had returned, that meant that they could be close to a new dragon human war. But of course, the Dragon Booster wouldn't let that happen.


	3. Chapter 3 Hidden

Hey there.

I just want to say to everyone how really, really, REALLY sorry i am for taking so long with this. I had a terrible case of writers block, which just about drove me crazy. but finally, here it is. Hope it was worth the wait.

**Chapter 3: Hidden.**

Parmon stood silently in front of the work bench in the team's tent. Laid out in front of him was a blue balance gear that had definitely seen much better days. The connecting rod was snapped, two of the weight pads were in pieces and half the outside was scorched. And that was just the visible outside damage. Artha stared over his friend's shoulder as he opened the gear and stared at the mess inside, but they both pulled back quickly when a few sparks flew.

"Hmm."

"That sounds promising." Artha commented.

"Well, the pads and rod shouldn't be too difficult. The real challenge is the damage to the inner circuits. The capacitor board will need to be replaced while…"

Artha cut him off before he could start the techno talk. "Just do what you can. I'm confident you can get it working again."

Parmon nodded and reached for the tool cabinet. Artha left the tent and found Kaley standing nearby, rubbing Astrala's shoulder. Despite the mishap earlier, they both seemed to be alright.

Kaley looked up as Artha approached her. "sorry about the gear, Artha."

"It's not the worst that's ever happened. Just be thankful that this one wasn't accompanied by the regular bruises."

"Put that down to some quick thinking."

Artha didn't dispute that. He had been right behind them as they were coming out of that tight corner. The ramming ball had surprised both of them as it just missed Beau but hit the extended arm of the balance gear that Astrala was just about to deactivate. Both dragon and rider had felt the jolt but Kaley was first to see the sparks. Acting on impulse, Kaley had ejected the gear seconds before it had let off an impressive collection of sparks and bangs.

"how's Astrala?"

Kaley gave her dragon another gentle rub on her shoulder. "No long term damage. Seems like the gear took most of the impact."

Artha came up beside her and moved her hand aside. Kaley hoped he didn't notice her shiver, but he was more focused on Astrala.

"I don't think she's even going to have a bruise." Artha lowered his hand and turned to Kaley.

Astrala saw Beau across the ground with Cyrano and Wyldfyer. Needing a bit of a break from the humans, she gave Kaley a small nudge before moving off to join the others. Kaley just stared after her.

"What about you?"

Kaley took a few steps away from Artha before turning and answering. "Nothing so bad that I can actually feel it. But I'm not the one that was hit."

"You really care about Astrala."

"Is that unusual?" Kaley said suddenly and with a bit of an edge.

Artha held up his hand quickly, surprised at how defensive she had become. "No, I just mean, I've noticed how close you two are. It's really admirable."

Kaley's face softened and her gaze wandered over to the dragons. "She's the best friend I ever had. I don't know where I'd be without her." There was silence for a few moments. Artha was hoping Kaley might fill the gap. She did.

"I lost my parents years ago. It's just been me and her."

"I'm sorry."

Kaley turned to face him. She had heard more than sympathy in his voice. Empathy. Understanding. Someone who knew the pain of such loss.

"You do what you need to." She said. There was more silence between them. Kaley looked away from Artha, hoping to hide the uncomfortable feeling that was growing inside her. But Artha noticed.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

Kaley looked back up, trying not to make her smile look to forced. "Yeah, probably just tired. I might grab Astrala and go."

"Do you have somewhere you can go?"

"Don't worry about us. I'll see you tomorrow."

Astrala was reluctant to leave, but she could always tell when Kaley was feeling uncomfortable. Saying goodbye to the others, she joined Kaley and the two of them left. Kaley could feel Artha's eyes following her the whole way.

Meanwhile, a few miles away, a group of four dragons slipped into the city.

Kaley sat in Astrala's saddle. Kitt and Artha were on either side of her. The three of them were waiting for the track starting gate to fall.

Since her first time on the track, Kaley had started to feel more confident with the races. And the fact that she was surrounded by friends made it a whole lot easier.

Moordryd came up on Kitt's other side and sneered at Kaley.

"Well, if it isn't the stable brats and the street girl." Kaley ignored him. "Good luck, you're going to need it here."

"Leave her alone, Paynn." Artha said firmly.

"It's ok, Artha." Kaley told him. "I can handle him."

"RACERS, ON YOUR MARK."

"you're going down, rookie."

"GET SET?"

"We'll see, city boy."

The starting horn blasted, the barrier fell and they were off.

Far below the track, four men in dark cloaks listened to the roar of the crowd above. One of them looked up, then over at the one of the others. He nodded and brought out a mag hammer.

Up on the track, Kaley was dodging Moordryd. He smirked at her and activated his blue star gear. Kaley quickly brought up her staff and hit them away.

"Not bad. But let's see how you dodge this."

Kaley heard the bang as the ramming ball was fired and came sailing towards them. She and Astrala had the same idea at the same moment. The ball was just five feet away when Kaley made her move, taking her feet out of the stirrups and sliding to the right side of the saddle, hanging so she was almost on the side of Astrala's head. Astrala had tilted her head slightly to the left to help Kaley remain balanced. As a result the ball flew straight over them and hit track railing, before bouncing straight back, flying over them again. Moordryd stared as the ball came rushing towards him. WHAM.

Kaley readjusted her position in the saddle and turned around to see Moordryd flat on his back.

She shook her head as she turned back. "Really," she said to Astrala, "Something's coming at you, you get out of the way. Is it really that hard."

Astrala was still laughing when they caught up to Artha and Kitt.

"Nice move." Artha called to her. Kaley winked at him.

Suddenly, Astrala pricked up her ears and growled.

"What is it, girl?" Kaley asked. Beau and Wyldfyer looked at Astrala.

*What's wrong?* Beau asked.

When Astrala answered, her voice was shaky. *something's not right.*

"Astrala?" Kaley sounded worried.

"What's wrong?" Kitt asked. Moordryd whizzed past them, but their minds weren't on the race right anymore.

"I don't know." Kaley replied. She reached out in front of her. "Hey, girl, what is…" but she stopped. Kaley had reached out her hand to touch Astrala's head. The minute she did, the track faded. She could hear crashing. She saw people fighting. Mag streams were flying. A voice, one she knew too well, calling to her. She quickly took her hand off. Artha and Kitt stared at her, worried.

"Kaley, are you ok?" Kaley looked at Kitt, but didn't answer. She had no idea what had just happened. But she suddenly got the same feeling as Astrala. Something was very wrong here. Parmon suddenly came up on Artha's com link.

"Artha. I'm getting a strange reading. It's a high concentration of black draconium, right below the track. But, it's unusual."

"What do you mean, unusual?"

Suddenly, the track shook. Kaley looked up and saw a loose sign in front of them. It broke free.

"Look out." the three of them steered their dragons away just as it feel.

"What is going on?" Kitt exclaimed. They entered the tunnel.

Below, the leader turned to the group member with the hammer.

"Do it." He ordered. The hammer guy magged up and smashed one of the track supports.

Astrala, Beau and Wyldfyer heard it.

*That doesn't sound good.* Wyldfyer said. The track behind them started to crack. Artha and Kaley looked back and saw it. Bits of the roof were falling, the walls cracked, huge chunks in the floor just fell away.

"GO!" everyone took off. Those who hadn't enter the tunnel stayed back. Everyone else hurried out. Kaley heard a yell and looked back to see Dorsull hanging through a crack in the floor of the tunnel, clammering to find a hand hold.

"We need to help him." she urged Astrala back into the tunnel. Highdyve was trying to help his rider, but he couldn't get to him. Kaley leaped off Astrala.

"Astrala, you get him to safety. I'll help Dorsull!"

Astrala nodded and urged Highdyve out of the tunnel. Highdyve hesitated.

*But what about…*

*My rider will help him.*

Dorsull looked up to see Kaley standing there, holding out her hand.

"Grab on, quick." he reached up and took her hand and she pulled him up. Once they were back on the track, he turned to thank her.

"No time. We need to go." The two of them hurried towards the tunnel exit. The racers were hurrying from the track as fast as they could. Kaley was a few feet away from the tunnel exit, which was only just holding, when a section of the track on her right exploded, bursting up like something had blasted it from below. The force threw both her and Dorsull to the ground. Dorsull hit the ground so hard he was knocked unconscious. Barely keeping it together herself, Kaley pulled Dorsull's arm over her shoulders and started dragging him. A thunderous creek made her look up, then she felt the ground jolt, and move down a few inches. Kaley slipped and the two of them went down hard.

Artha and Kitt had felt the ground shake under them and saw the flash inside the tunnel. Race officials and Dragon City Security were herding people off the track.

"Whoa, watch out!" Artha quickly pulled Kitt to the side as Astrala came bounding past them, heading for the wreckage, Beau right behind her. When they saw what had them going, Artha and Kitt quickly followed.

"Hey, Stop!"

But the two of them ignore the DC officer's command, as well as the running behind them that followed. Astrala was only a few feet away from the tunnel when a huge crack appeared on the track in front of her.

*Astrala, the structure won't hold. It's going to fall.* Beau called to her.

The crack got bigger and the tunnel began to slip. Astrala activated her mag stream and wrapped it around one of the tunnel's still standing support beams. The falling structure stopped, but already it was still cracking. Astrala was straining hard. How long could she hold this? Would it be enough time for Kaley and the other rider to get out? If they could get out. What if they were hurt, or unconscious, of even…it was only then that she felt the structure was lighter somehow. Looking up, she saw 7 other mag streams had hold it. Beside her, Beau gave a roar that was answered by the other dragons.

Hundreds of human eyes were staring in wonder at the dragons working as one.

"Would you look at that!" someone yelled.

Artha didn't waste a moment. "Come on!" and he took off with Kitt, Wulph and three others behind him. Sliding to a halt just short of the crack, he called out.

Kaley yelled back. "I need help in here."

"Hang on."

Outside Beau let out another roar. Kitt and Artha both knew what that meant.

"Get back." Artha pushed everyone away as Beau's mag stream blasted through the falling wreckage, clearing the view so they could see where they were. Before the dust had even cleared a blue stream was in and Kaley and Dorsull were being lifted out and clear of the tunnel. A second later, unable to hold much longer, mag streams were disengaged and the structure broke away. The crash shook the ground so much that many people lost their balance. Kaley's feet had barely touched the ground when she felt Dorsull's weight being lifted from her shoulders and someone else placing an arm around her waist.

When Marianis left the medic tent she was met by the Penn crew.

"Is Dorsull alright?"

"Minor concussion and a fractured rib or two." Marianis told them. "They're going to transport him to DC Hospital and keep him over night to be sure. But they're certain he'll be fully recovered soon."

Artha was sure he heard at least 3 relieved sighs. Marianis went straight up to him.

"How's your girl?"

"She's still in there. Didn't exactly go quietly."

As if she could tell that they were talking about her, the tent flap opened and Kaley came out.

"You didn't exactly give me much choice."

Artha acted like she hadn't said anything. "What did they say?"

"Nothing to be concerned about." Before Artha could reply she turned to Marianis. "How's Dorsull?"

Marianis smiled at her, "He's alright. I can't thank you enough."

"It was an instinctive reaction. I never like to leave anyone behind. I'd like to think anyone would have done the same."

"Well, if it wasn't for you, Dorsull wouldn't be here."

_That may be truer than you realize. _

Marianis notice Kaley's sudden withdrawal and placed a hand on her shoulder. Kaley looked up to see her warm smile.

"On behalf of the Dragon Fish, I want you too know that we are in your debt. Thank you."

Kaley smiled back, but Artha could see right through it. Kaley was off in another world. Before he could say anything Lance said what the others had been thinking.

"How did this happen?"

"They're still doing their preliminary examination of the track."

It was that moment that Khatah and Phistus arrived.

Khatah spoke before anyone asked. "They just finished. One of the main support columns collapsed. When it went down it smashed into the other one, which just sent the whole thing…" he flung his arm to the side indicating that it had gone like dominoes.

"Do they know why it went in the first place?" Kitt asked.

"Nothing obvious."

"Do they know what caused the blast?"

"What blast?"

Artha explained about the flash they had seen that shook the ground. "Kaley, you were in there at the time, did you see what happened?"

"No, I was too concern with getting Dorsull and me out of there. I wasn't really paying attention." She immediately turned to Phistus. "So what's going to happen now?"

"DC Security and the Mid-City Racing committee are going to run a conjoined investigation into the cause."

"And how long will that take?"

"They don't know. But until they know exactly what happened all races are suspended and the whole area is off limits. They don't want to risk anyone else being hurt. How's Dorsull, by the way?"

Marianis smiled. "He's going to be fine, thanks to our fearless rookie racer."

Phistus and Khatah both turned to Kaley. "That was a really brave thing to do."

Kaley just nodded. "I'm just glad no one else was hurt. It could have been a lot worse from what I saw."

_Even though you weren't paying attention._ Artha was sure that Kaley was trying to avoid attention. So while everyone else was talking he pulled her aside. Once they were out of earshot Kaley waited for him to speak. Artha didn't really know how to say what was on his mind, so they just stood there for a minute.

Kaley broke first, "Well? Is there any particular reason for the cloak and dagger or did you...?"

"I want to know what happened on the track."

"I think we all would."

"I mean before the tremor, with you and Astrala."

"I couldn't tell you, it's never happened before."

Artha fought back his frustration. Kaley was deliberately dodging his questions.

"Look, I really want to go check on Astrala…"

"Kaley would you stop stone walling me!"

For the first time Kaley looked directly at him.

"You've been acting weird for ages."

"What are you basing that on?"

"What?" Artha couldn't help but notice that sudden change.

"Two weeks and suddenly you think you know everything about me."

"Hardly, you never give me a straight answer to anything." _How did we get into this? _

"Artha, I don't need you to monitor everything I do. I'm tired of everyone thinking I can't handle myself."

That took Artha completely by surprise. "I never said that."

Kaley looked away, to where Astrala stood slightly apart from the other dragons. Artha saw her hand go to the chain at her neck. He had never seen what was on that chain. Kaley took a deep breath and relaxed. "I'm sorry. Maybe I'm not as alright as I thought."

Artha just could not figure this girl out. But before he could say anything else Kitt, Parmon and Lance joined them.

"DC security wants to speak to everyone that was on the track."

Later that afternoon, the official announcement was made, suspending all races until further notice.

"How long do you think it's going to be?" Kitt asked.

"Who knows?" Parmon said. "This has never happened before. They have to be sure it's safe."

"I don't think this was an accident." Artha said.

"What do you mean?" Kitt asked him.

"Remember how the track shook before the collapse, like it was being hit?"

"And I did pick up that reading below the track." Parmon added.

"Speaking of which, what did you mean when you said the reading was unusual?"

Before Parmon could answer, however, Beau suddenly gave Artha an urgent nudge in the back, making him jumped.

"Whoa. Hey, what's up with you?" Beau just grunted. He sounded worried. "Beau, what is it?"

Parmon looked around, then turned to the others.

"Um, where's Kaley?"

They all looked around. Kaley and Astrala were gone.

"Wasn't she here just a moment ago?"

Artha didn't understand. Why would she just vanish? There was something strange going on. And they needed to find out what.

"Come on guys, let's go find them."


End file.
